Multisectoral groups in Bacolod City are calling for climate accountability and action following the recent flooding that displaced thousands of people.
The groups issued the call at a recent forum workshop on climate crisis, climate finance, and accountability, a press release from the Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, said.
The event on “Understanding the Causes, Demanding Climate Accountability, and Advancing Just, Transparent, and Participatory Solutions” aimed to deepen public understanding of the climate crisis, clarify climate finance processes, and strengthen efforts to hold institutions accountable following the recent typhoons.
The civil society-led forum-workshop came ahead of the second Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit on Wednesday, December 10.
During the forum Dr. Anna Maria Laarni M. Pornan, Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, explained the need to expand Climate and Disaster Risk Assessments (CDRA) beyond barangays to include schools and major community institutions, noting that flood prevention measures depend largely on consistent maintenance of the city’s waterways.
City Planning and Development Officer Edmund Neil Mamon emphasized the importance of Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment.
Asia Youth Climate Justice Camp of Oxfam Philippines Fellow, John Dyrick Dormis, also pointed out that only around 24 local governments nationwide have been able to access the People’s Survival Fund with an annual allocation of P1 billion to increase resilience amidst the climate crisis.
Among the key issues pointed out during the forum is the lack of transparency and participation in the development of flood-control interventions, the non-implementation of solid-waste plans and programs, and corruption in flood-control infrastructures, the press release said.
Participants of the forum called for stricter implementation of existing plans and ordinances, making flood-control planning transparent and participatory, and water management to address both water scarcity during the hot season and floodings on rainy seasons.
Outputs from the workshop sessions will be consolidated and carried into future dialogs, multi-stakeholder consultations, and policy lobbying efforts to ensure that community voices shape local climate governance and long-term climate planning, the press release said.
The activity was organized by the Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), in partnership with Oxfam Pilipinas and the Caritas Bacolod Social Action Foundation.*